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Although the sub-heading of this book is titled “A Study of the Psychological Effects of War”, the author has utilized the war only as a background and has actually written a book designed for those “whose
professional task is to assist individuals in all walks of life during the years to come—while the imprint of war still shapes the life of all of us”. This refreshing approach which has put the war in its place rather than over-emphasizing or under-emphasizing it should prove of interest to everyone working with personality problems in any country which has felt the impact of war. In order to understand the reaction of any individual to the stresses which develop during a major conflict, it is essential to understand the development of the individual before the conflict begins.
The author first discusses the psychoanalytical concept of the development of the individual, wording her presentation so as to remain intelligible to readers who have not been trained in psychoanalytical language. She next discusses the usual relationships in marriage and follows this with a discussion of separation. Part II discusses the soldier—his adjustment in service, Army life, and emotional situations on returning and failures of adaptation. Through this section she emphasizes the individuality of each soldier and avoids fairly well the danger which results from lumping individuals into groups when analyzing their problems. Part III is her best section, dealing with the family in war, discussing mother, father and sibling relationships to the soldier, together with the relationship of marital couples who have been separated. Other chapters discuss mourning for the soldier, the disabled veteran and the problems of parenthood in war. Her final part covers the reactions of adolescence in war-time and the ever increasing participation of woman in the armed forces and war work. Although this volume has been written entirely from a psychoanalytical viewpoint, the author has not lost herse